Emmie's Berry D'licious 2019 True Living Organic: No AACT, SCROG, COB, SuperSoil Production Grow & Seed Run

SQl2kGuy said:
Hi @Emilya, ... I'm trying to do this right now.

I think you have your light set to 5, 000 LUX or 7, 000 LUX ... but is it also set at 16 inches above canopy?

Is it just the LUX value at canopy that is making them stretch so much?
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The lux hitting any point on the canopy is dependent on the distance from the light. To achieve 7000 lux at 12 inches is going to take a whole lot less wattage than at 22 inches where it is set right now.
I believe that with lux values at a higher than optimum value you can keep a plant short and the internodal lengths short but I also believe that these plants reach an optimum height at an optimum lux, and with my dial-a-watt light control, I can make sure that these plants will always see the optimal amount of light, all through the grow. I submit that my plants have not stretched too much... but that their now consistent 3" vertical height is also the exact distance from where the seed was planted, down to the bottom of the container. I have believed it for years, now I am seeing it in action... as above, so below.
 
All of the plants have now deployed their first big fan leaves out and except for our last to emerge M&M they are working on the second set of leaves. This has prompted me to increase the LUX again. I had increased the night before just a bit, to around 8000 LUX and this morning we continued our creep upward into the optimum range for veg. We are still a bit shy of throwing that much light at them just yet, but as of this morning they are now at the 10,000 LUX level while pulling from the wall the equivalent of a 60w light bulb.

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I will be measuring when I get home this afternoon to see if this added light energy has increased the water uptake of our oldest test plant. This morning I weighed my test plant to compare to the weight last night before bedtime and I made the entries on my grow calendar.

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Last night I added some more water even though the container was not yet dry, trying to just put a bit on the outside edges. As a result and showing complaint, the water use slowed a bit on our test plant to about 1/5 what it was the day before. This tells me that it is time to stop keeping that soil wet and get some oxygen down in there so those roots can step back into full production.

Here is the tribe, and note that they all have now achieved roughly the same vertical height. They are taller at this point than I usually do, but I think this light experiment is showing us something important. Keep in mind that if this slightly taller height becomes a problem, I can always bury them to their knees in the next container, so when it comes to problems, that would be a minor one.

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I learned something today... not exactly sure what yet... but it is something. :)
I got home from work and as promised went down to measure water usage during the day while I was at work. I could not believe what I found! The water use had gone down to next to nothing, .03 ounces during the entire 7 hours! I would have been concerned had it not been for the fact that 4 out of 5 plants had quickly thrown up the second set of leaves and gotten them to a decent size in the short time I had left them alone! But no water usage? What gives?
I decided right then that measuring only one plant was not at all scientific and I carefully weighed each container so I can check them again before bed. I am pleased to announce that water usage has again commenced, and all the plants seem to be using 1ml/hr at the moment. By the way... I am switching away from ounces in this experiment... ml are much easier and accurate in this range.
Conclusions? Hypotheses?
It would make sense that significant changes in the light, whether it be in intensity, duration or content, are very important to a plant... probably its first concern, second only to water. I casually increased the light intensity by 25% this morning, and the plants immediately shifted into a different mode. Uptake stopped and the plant went into a new growth frenzy. Normally we see shifts in purpose like this in conjunction with day/night changes... this time it was simply the increase in light that triggered it.
I am starting to also understand the Auto phenomenon a little better by studying these plants so intently under this scientifically controlled light intensity, while simultaneously closely monitoring water uptake. These plants under the 24/0 light are in full on mode, just as an Auto would be. I now wonder if a lot of the accelerated growth that we associate with Autos is simply the full on light? I am seeing greatly accelerated growth, and I am starting to understand how the plant gets things done even in the absence of a day/night cycle, like our mysterious Autos do. Maybe the only magic about Autos is their ability to flower without a night period... but in all this other stuff, they are just like their photo cousins! I suspect that I am on to something good here.
Agent M... signing off.
Good night my little garden, even though your light keeps right on shining.
 
This morning's weigh in showed a fairly consistent 1ml/hr water usage overnight and while I didn't measure the vertical height, it seems that my tallest one has stretched a little more, or the massive 3 day leaf growth just got too heavy to hold up yet, and the plant had starting listing to the leeward side. I mounded up some soil around the trunk on this one and the other tall one to keep the stalk in place as it continues to get stronger. There is an oscillating fan on the table with the plants, and this will also help them get stronger. On the first proper watering I will be adding some aloe juice so that the silicone can help strengthen the plants although I think they would be fine without it. I will also be adding the first application of Recharge to these young plants on that first true watering, but at the current water usage we are still several days away from that. I expect that in that time we will see more roots develop and water use will double. This 24/0 light is doing some amazing things and I suspect that I will not be vegging as long as I had planned so as to be able to fill up a 2x4 SCROG.
Speaking of which, I have decided to "farm out" the construction of my screen this time, and I believe I can get one of my sweetie's coworkers at the Lowe's store to custom build a 2x4 aluminum window screen for me. Instead of screen, I plan on creating a mesh out of heavy test fishing line and stringing the screen frame like a tennis racket by drilling the appropriate holes all around the edges. I think this design will be light as well as strong enough to maintain the plants horizontally, and I should be able to keep it at the right height by attaching it by the corners to the 4 vertical tent supports in a secure manner. Has anyone else tried this? Is a 4' run of aluminum screen frame going to be strong enough to hold this thing up? I guess I could have them make a panel with a divider in the middle if I needed additional support or I could add in something afterward. I want this SCROG screen to hold up for a while and become my standard way of working in this 2x4 tent.
 
Good Morning,Emilya -
You probably already thought of this,but....be sure to use something for a sleeve (I.V. tubing?) where the fishing line passes through the holes in the aluminum,or when you stretch it tight it may cut the fish line...
 
You may run into problems with the fishline / aluminum frame. The edges of the hole you drill may bite through the fish line.
 
Old Salt said:
You may run into problems with the fishline / aluminum frame. The edges of the hole you drill may bite through the fish line.
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yes, that could be a problem... maybe a little shrink on sleeve sort of thing there as it comes through, just to protect the line... maybe instead put screws all around that the line could be wrapped around instead of through a hole... There has to be a way.
 
Emilya said:
yes, that could be a problem... maybe a little shrink on sleeve sort of thing there as it comes through, just to protect the line... maybe instead put screws all around that the line could be wrapped around instead of through a hole... There has to be a way.
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Take a look at the glass carrying parts of the aluminum. You may be able to put screws or rivets though it. I like rivets, as they have smooth sides. Other options are cutting down an aluminum screen door or going to a wooden frame.
 
I'd also recommend using individual strands,so if something does break,you don't lose the whole net...
just a thought...
 
I got home a little while ago and got to work First, it was time to check water usage after seeing another day of ridiculous growth on these seedlings. The second set of leaves have already gotten a lot bigger than I would have expected in 5 1/2 days thanks to the 24/0 light at pretty much the full intensity that they could be expected to handle. To wit, I have just increased the light intensity another notch, up to 65w of lean mean Missouri power. LUX is now measured at 12K at the top of the canopy.
Taking the cue from the two leaders who are now just shy of 4" tall, I have mounded the soil around the trunks of all of the plants to help with stability as the trunks work to catch up to the massive leaf growth. To start introducing some extra nitrogen to the young roots I sprinkled 1tsp of used coffee grounds from work (the good stuff) across the top of the soil, and drabbed just a little bit of water on the new mounds to lock them in place. This micro watering shouldn't hurt the overall goal of letting the cups dry out for the first time. at least not too bad. I still anticipate that added root growth is going to rapidly accelerate the water usage very soon.

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So, what was the water usage today... still chugging away at 1ml / hour? It was actually down a bit on average, 5.7ml in 7 hours or .8ml / hr. I am sure that it is because the lower roots have been underwater all this time. That is my #1 goal right now... drain the water. Between the ever intensifying light, the nutrient boost and patience... we will get this done.


I also want to increase the microbial activity at the soil surface so as to repel pests and knowing that I will soon be adding a huge microtribe to this system, I am working tonight on treating the surface with a fine mulch. This will keep both bugs and microbe kiling bright light away from the surface... a very good thing.

DSCF7128.JPG unchopped mulch for larger containers

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Lastly, I just want to show off a 5/12 day old plant that is thriving.
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Thanks Smokey! The day I can get my brother to fell a pine tree and strip it that might happen, but until then this is a commercially packaged bag of pine bark mulch that I have been working with for years. You do have to be selective... some mulches could be harmful to our gardens in that they leech vital elements out of the soil.
 
Veg, Day 6 Lighting 12,000 LUX - 24/0
Water use is slowly increasing, but still not impressive. The plants are all still rapidly developing and they way they are staggered as to time to pop the soil, I can see 3 stages of them at the moment... 6 days growth, 5 days and 4 days...
Here is 6 days of growth:
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Hey Emy! Your seedlings are looking great! :high-five:they seem to be kicking up a gear now.
Sorry about the one random seedling dying :hmmmm::rip: i'm doubtful it was your temperature that killed just the one off so quickly. I think you're probably right and missed watering that one - did you feel the medium?
 
irie lion said:
Hey Emy! Your seedlings are looking great! :high-five:they seem to be kicking up a gear now.
Sorry about the one random seedling dying :hmmmm::rip: i'm doubtful it was your temperature that killed just the one off so quickly. I think you're probably right and missed watering that one - did you feel the medium?
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I did, but I couldnt tell. You are right though, these seem to be growing like autos! lol
 
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